Secretary of State George P. Shultz and the Soviet Foreign Minister met for nearly three hours last night trying to find a formula for the release of an American journalist in Moscow and to resolve other issues holding up the setting of a date for a summit meeting. At a midnight news conference, the State Department spokesman, Bernard Kalb, suggested some movement in this, the fourth and longest session between Mr. Shultz and Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze in a week. He said, in referring to the case of Nicholas S. Daniloff, the U.S. News & World Report correspondent in Moscow, that the two men were “working the problem.” The American side, after each of the previous meetings between the two men in New York last week, had said only that the issue was not yet resolved. A high American official said Mr. Shultz hoped that by tomorrow night he and Mr. Shevardnadze could resolve the Daniloff case.. The Soviet official is scheduled to leave New York tomorrow evening for an official visit to Ottawa. Mr. Shultz, who met with Mr. Shevardnadze in Washington on September 19 and 20, conferred with him three times in New York last week in an effort to resolve the Daniloff matter and the case of Gennadi F. Zakharov, a Soviet physicist employed at the United Nations. Mr. Zakharov’s arrest on Aug. 23 in New York on spying charges is believed to have touched off the arrest of Mr. Daniloff a week later in Moscow.
The Soviet Government took a small group of Western journalists on a tour of a Soviet underground nuclear test site in Central Asia this weekend. It was believed to be the first time Westerners were allowed to inspect the site. The visit on Saturday, an unusual departure from the tight secrecy that Moscow maintains about military installations, was apparently intended to draw attention to the Soviet Union’s year-old moratorium on underground nuclear testing.
The Soviet Minister of Merchant Marine has been removed from his post less than a month after a cruise liner sank in the Black Sea with the loss of almost 400 people, the press agency Tass reported today. Timofei B. Guzhenko, 68 years old, who had run the ministry since January 1970, was retired on a pension, Tass said. Although Mr. Guzhenko was old enough for retirement, the announcement of his removal was tersely phrased and made no mention of thanks for his service. The liner Admiral Nakhimov sank on August 31 after a collision with a cargo ship, and 398 people were officially reported dead or missing.
The United States has no effective strategy to cope with the increasing threat of terrorism and guerrilla warfare, a Pentagon study has concluded. The report says the United States effort to protect its interests around the world is hampered by bureaucratic infighting and the inability of American leaders and agencies “to comprehend the nature of this type of conflict.” The report was prepared over the last year by a joint team from the Army and Air Force. There are no plans to make the document public, although a copy was made available to The Associated Press.
An attempt to rush 27,000 refugees into West Berlin on a roundabout route through Communist Eastern Europe has apparently been thwarted, the West German Foreign Ministry said. A spokesman said the plan had involved ferrying 600 busloads of asylum-seekers from Turkey to Bulgaria and from there to West Berlin. Bulgarian authorities said the first busloads of refugees, mostly Turks and Iranians, were turned back at the Turkish frontier and will not be allowed to cross without West German entry visas. “The Bulgarian action appears to have resolved the problem, and we are grateful,” the Bonn spokesman said. Under pressure from Bonn, East Germany announced September 18 that it would restrict the flow of Third World refugees into West Berlin, beginning Wednesday.
A prisoner who made a spectacular escape by helicopter from a Paris penitentiary last spring has been seriously wounded and captured in a shootout while trying to rob a bank, the police said. The man, Michel Vaujour, was in a coma tonight at the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital, hospital officials said. The police said Saturday that Mr. Vaujour had been wounded in the head in the gun battle Friday afternoon after he and two accomplices tried to rob a branch of Credit Lyonnais in eastern Paris. They said Mr. Vanjour was identified from fingerprints and tattoos. On May 26, Mr. Vaujour, 34 years old, was plucked from the roof of La Sante prison by a rented helicopter flown by his wife, Nadine. It was his fourth escape since 1973. He was serving an 18-year sentence for armed robbery and the attempted murder of a policeman.
Bonn and Tokyo refused to cut their interest rates to help the American economy. On Saturday, representatives West Germany and Japan, the two strongest economies among America’s allies, finally rejected weeks of remonstration by Treasury Secretary James A. Baker 3d, who had been urging them reduce their rates. Mr. Baker, who had carried President Reagan’s successful campaign to overhaul the Federal income tax system, is now turning his attention fully to the international arena, which has proven infinitely more difficult than Congress.
British war brides returned home with their American husbands and family members for their largest reunion ever and the first held in Britain. About 300 women out of the 70,000 who married American servicemen in World War II took part.
Israeli military authorities appointed three Arab mayors today to head towns in the occupied West Bank that were previously controlled by Israeli officers. The appointments, which completed the transfer of municipal rule from the army’s Civil Administration to local hands, were apparently an attempt to bolster pro-Jordanian leadership in the West Bank. Last week Israel allowed Jordan to reopen a branch of the Cairo-Amman Bank in Nablus, the first Arab bank to operate in the West Bank since the occupation began in 1967. All of the new mayors, Abed el-Magid el-Zir of Hebron, Khalil Musa Khalil of Ramallah and Hassan Mustafa Tawil of El Bireh, are known for their pro-Jordanian views.
Christian militiamen, reportedly backed by units of the Lebanese Army, have foiled an attempt by pro-Syrian militiamen to seize control of the predominantly Christian sector of Beirut. The police said 52 people were killed and 200 wounded in the fighting on Saturday, when rival militiamen fought pitched street battles for 13 hours. Artillery duels were reported today across the Green Line dividing the predominantly Christian eastern sector of the capital from the mostly Moslem west. Shells and rockets fell in residential quarters close to the line, but it was not clear which forces were involved.
Security forces in Morocco arrested a team of Palestinian terrorists preparing to bomb a synagogue in Casablanca next weekend, the New York Times reported. The team’s affiliation or goals were not known, and Reagan Administration officials were quoted as warning against linking the incident with recent terrorist attacks against Jewish or Western targets. The Palestinians, who were carrying explosives and the plan of a synagogue in Casablanca, were reportedly arrested last week.
Afghan guerrillas said they shot down three helicopters with missiles in eastern Afghanistan in the last two weeks, an indication that the rebels are getting more anti-aircraft weapons in the war against the Marxist government and its Soviet allies. Two of the helicopters were reported downed near the government-held town of Jalalabad and the third in Kunar province. The guerrillas are known to have a handful of Soviet-designed SAM-7 anti-aircraft missiles and are expected to receive U.S.-made Stinger missiles.
Monsoon rains in India caused widespread flooding in Calcutta and surrounding areas in West Bengal, leaving at least 18 people dead and 650,000 homeless. The Press Trust of India said the rains were continuing for the third day in the city of 10 million people, disrupting transportation and utilities and rendering streets impassable. More than 2,000 temporary camps have been set up for the homeless. In southwestern Bangladesh, heavy rains have killed at least 10 people and left more than 100,000 homeless since Friday.
The Communist Party’s Central Committee held a rare meeting today and reaffirmed China’s commitment to economic modernization, while warning against corruption and other evils. China’s effort to raise living standards by increasing contacts with foreign countries is “a basic, unalterable policy,” the sixth plenary session of the 12th Central Committee said in a long resolution. But the resolution also championed “socialist morality” and warned that it is wrong to “blindly worship bourgeois philosophies and social doctrines.” The official New China News Agency said 199 Central Committee members and 126 alternates held the one-day session at the Great Hall of the People after five days of preparatory meetings. The full Central Committee last met a year ago.
Americans in Costa Rica supervised the building of an airstrip near the Cost Rican border with Nicaragua, according to local residents, including some who say they worked on the project. The Costa Ricans said two Americans and the local police commander supervised the building of the military-size airstrip. The accounts of the origin and building of the airstrip include details that contradict official government explanations and reinforced suspicions of American involvement.
Salvadoran Archbishop Arturo Rivera y Damas said that leftist rebels are seeking private meetings with the U.S-backed government that could lead to new peace talks. Rivera y Damas said he received a telex from rebel leaders Guillermo Ungo and Shafik Handal asking that the talks begin today “in either Mexico or Panama.” The archbishop said he passed the proposal to the government and expects an answer “at any moment.” A round of peace talks was scheduled September 19, but it was called off when the two sides could not agree on security measures.
Organizers of a relief airlift to an estimated 2 million famine victims in embattled south Sudan said they have ended a dispute with the Sudanese government and will begin operations Wednesday. Under the agreement, they will fly food and medical supplies to the government-held towns of Malakal and Juba but not to besieged Wau and rebel-held Yirol, as they earlier proposed. The United States, the Netherlands and Canada are contributing to the $1-million, “Operation Rainbow” airlift along with several relief groups. The rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army is battling the Khartoum government in southern Sudan.
A hand grenade was hurled at a South African nightclub open to all races today, and the blast wounded three people and caused extensive damage, the Bureau for Information said. The bureau is the official source of information on unrest under press restrictions that prohibit journalists from reporting unauthorized information on actions of the security forces, statements deemed to be subversive and information that could be construed as endangering public safety.
The Senate ended hours of debate early today on a measure to combat drug abuse after voting in support of the death penalty for major traffickers who commit a murder while they conduct their trade. The lawmakers recessed this morning without completing action on the omnibus package of proposals and without coming to terms with the thorny issue of how to pay for it. They are to take up the issue again Tuesday. “It will be very difficult, if not totally impossible, to fund this measure,” Senator Mark O. Hatfield, the Oregon Republican who heads the Appropriations Committee, warned the lawmakers, noting that Congress still must pass legislation to finance most of the Government’s operations before it adjourns for the year. He said there was simply no money left for the drug program in next year’s tight budget. This week Congress must adopt the legislation to finance Government operations for the fiscal year 1987, which begins Wednesday. The decision over how to pay for the $1.4 billion drug program will be made in that legislation.
The House of Representatives could act as early as Monday to override President Reagan’s veto of a bill imposing economic sanctions on South Africa, a Congressional aide said today. The House override, considered all but certain, would set the stage for a vote in the Senate, where the leadership is divided. If the House votes Monday, the Senate could vote as early as Tuesday, but it is more likely to act toward the end of the week, the aide said.
President Reagan places a call to Representative John G. Rowland (R-Connecticut) for the Congressman’s re-election campaign.
The President and First Lady leave Camp David for the White House.
President Reagan heads for Missouri and South Dakota tomorrow in an effort to tip the balance in two close races that figure prominently in the right for control of the Senate. An airport rally — with balloons, marching bands and sky divers — and a $1,000-a-couple reception were on tap in Kansas City, where Reagan was to campaign for former two-term Governor Christopher S. (Kit) Bond. Bond is battling Lieutenant Governor Harriet Woods for the seat being vacated by Democrat Thomas F. Eagleton. In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Reagan was to attend another rally and $1,000-a-couple reception for Republican Senator James Abdnor, who faces Democratic Rep. Thomas A. Daschle.
A Senate runoff in Louisiana will be held in November, heartening national Democratic leaders in their drive to take control of the Senate. Representative W. Henson Moore, a Republican, fell well short of a majority in the primary, forcing the runoff. Mr. Moore led the field with 45 percent of the vote, according to nearly complete returns, but his principal opponent, Representative John B. Breaux, a Democrat from the Cajun region, ran much more strongly than was expected, finishing with 37 percent.
A twin-engine plane crashed into three houses in Chicago, setting one ablaze and killing the pilot, officials said. The pilot was the only person aboard the plane, and no one on the ground was hurt, Fire Department spokesman Tom Sheppard said. The plane lost altitude shortly after takeoff from Midway Airport, hit the chimney of the first house, sheared off the roof of the second, struck a tree top and then crashed into the back yard of the third house, setting fire to its wooden porch, Sheppard said. Officers on duty in a police station nearby heard the plane’s engines sputtering as it flew overhead, Officer Darlene Wicht said. “We heard it go over the station here and we knew he was in trouble,” she said.
Police officers searched a vacant trailer home in Wright City, Missouri today but found no trace of a former mental patient suspected of killing three people, the authorities reported. The officers, hunting with bloodhounds and a helicopter, blocked off the area and kept residents away from their homes as they tried to determine whether the armed fugitive, Michael Wayne Jackson, was in the neighborhood. They found a door open on the trailer home, but they were not certain if there had been a break-in, said Hal Helterhoff, the agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s St. Louis office. The 41-year-old fugitive has been at large since September 22, when the authorities say he began his three-state spree of murder, abductions and theft. Earlier today, about 50 vultures were seen circling over a wooded area near where Mr. Jackson was last seen, and officers searched the area. Nothing was found.
Thousands of dead fish littered a four-mile stretch of Seattle’s Duwamish River, apparently after sediment washing into the river depleted the oxygen supply, a state official said. Witnesses said some people were carting home the easy catch, including flounder and salmon, although experts warned against eating the fish until the cause of the kill was verified. The official said bacteria in sediment that accumulated when the tide came in Saturday competed with the fish for the dissolved oxygen in the water. He said similar kills occur every year, but this was the largest he had seen in 15 years.
A seventh-grade science teacher in Tampa, Florida, snorted cocaine at his desk in the back of the classroom while about 20 students watched a biology film, said the police who arrested him on drug charges. An undercover detective posing as a teaching intern reported buying cocaine from the Franklin Junior High School teacher, then saw him snort the drug in class, police said. Richard U. Cottrell, 40, was charged with felony possession and delivery of cocaine and was freed on $5,000 bond.
Insurance companies refuse to provide nuclear accident coverage to Americans living near atomic power stations even though plant owners are financially protected, according to a study released in Washington. The study by the Environmental Policy Institute, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and the Union of Concerned Scientists revealed nuclear power plants carry more than $1 billion in insurance to cover their properties. The study also said the Price-Anderson Act, a 1957 nuclear insurance law Congress is about to renew, limits suits against firms blamed for nuclear accidents.
A 24-day-old boy was in critical but stable condition a day after receiving the heart of an infant girl, officials at Loma Linda University Medical Center said. Trevor Reed, who had a usually fatal heart defect, was recovering in the intensive-care unit of the medical center, said hospital spokeswoman Anita Rockwell. The boy was born September 3 to John and Sherri Reed of the Sacramento area and had hypoplastic left heart syndrome. He received the heart of a baby girl born with fatal defects Friday in Knoxville, Tenn., said Marty Walker, coordinator of the Knoxville Organ Donor Program. Dr. Leonard Bailey, who has performed all six of the infant-to-infant heart transplant operations at the San Bernardino County medical center, performed the surgery.
The marriage rate in the United States is at its lowest level in nine years, apparently because baby boomers are marrying later and less frequently. Richard Cline of the National Center for Health Statistics in Washington predicted that the marriage rate would go still lower. Provisional data shows the rate fell 3% between 1984 and 1985. Marriages fell from 2,487,000 in 1984 to 2,425,000 in 1985. Barbara Foley Wilson, a government demographer, said figures “suggest that the decline is continuing on into 1986.” She added: “The number of people eligible to get married is diminishing…. People in their 20s are a diminishing number.”
Residents of the small farming and ranching town of Saco, Montana stood guard behind sandbags and dikes today as a major creek steadily rose. More than 300 people have been evacuated from flooded towns along the Milk River. With Beaver Creek spilling over its banks at Saco, Mayor Gregg Menge said standing water 3 to 4 feet deep and several miles wide had flooded the area west of town known as the Saco Flats. To the west at Chinook, where about 125 people were evacuated Saturday, National Guard troops were sent home today after they patrolled the dikes overnight, and officials said the flooding had stabilized. The water level had stabilized this afternoon at Harlem, where about 100 people were evacuated, officials said. At Malta, where about 125 people were evacuated, sandbags and dikes were holding and officials said the water appeared to be receding slightly.
James R. Thompson of Illinois declared rain-soaked Lake County north of Chicago a disaster area today after flooding that caused at least $20 million in damage. Governor Thompson said field reports from emergency officials indicated flood waters had damaged at least 500 homes and 50 businesses and had left more than 100 people homeless.
Alternative spiritual concepts are working their way increasingly into the nation’s cultural, religious, social and political life, scholars say. As evidence they cite such activity as sessions for executives on how metaphysics might help them compete, a television mini-series on the supernational, and the spreading influence of psychological self-help and “human potential” groups.
A record 23,000 runners start in a marathon in Mexico City.
Major League Baseball:
Jim Deshaies, Aurelio Lopez, Charlie Kerfeld and Dave Smith combined on Houston’s fifth shutout in six games yesterday to lead the Astros to a 2–0 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Dave Lopes and Terry Puhl had RBI singles for Houston. Deshaies (11–5) gave up five hits and a walk in five innings. Lopez pitched two innings of one-hit relief, then Kerfeld and Smith pitch an inning each, finishing the combined six-hitter. Smith got his 32nd save.
The Red Sox become the last team to win their division, wrapping up the American League East with a 12–3 rout of the 2nd-place Blue Jays at Fenway Park. The eight-hit victory raised Dennis (Oil Can) Boyd’s record to 16–10, the most victories in his four-year major-league career. Wade Boggs went 1 for 4, lowering his average to .352, 2 points ahead of the Yankees’ Don Mattingly in the race for the league batting title.
Texas and California match Witts, with Mike Witt going the distance to lose, 4–3, to Texas starter Bobby Witt. Mike serves up a grand slam to Pete Incaviglia, Inky’s second grand slam this year.
The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 6–1. Gary Gaetti walked with the bases loaded to snap a 1–1 eighth-inning tie, and Minnesota scored five more runs in a ninth inning highlighted by Mickey Hatcher’s two-run homer. Mike Smithson (12–14) worked seven and two-thirds innings, giving up six hits, as the Twins ended a four-game losing streak. Chicago announced that Harold Baines, the team’s right fielder, will undergo arthroscopic surgery either Wednesday or Thursday to remove torn cartilage from his right knee.
The Oakland Athletics bowed to the Kansas City Royals, 6–2. George Brett, Frank White and Jamie Quirk hit consecutive home runs in the fourth inning for the Royals. Dave Stewart (9–4) began the inning by walking Kevin Seitzer, and Brett hit his 16th home run to give the Royals a 2–0 lead. White followed with his 21st homer, and Quirk hit his seventh.
The Milwaukee Brewers whipped the Baltimore Orioles, 10–2. Charlie Moore singled, doubled, hit a home run and scored twice to lead the Brewers, Moore, a catcher, who was making his first start in the outfield this season, snapped a 1-1 tie with his third homer leading off the third inning against Eric Bell (1-1) the Baltimore starter.
The Philadelphia Phillies downed the Montreal Expos, 5–2. John Russell’s two-run single keyed a three-run sixth inning and Juan Samuel hit a two-run homer as Kevin Gross and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Montreal Expos, 5–2. Gross, 12–12, gave up seven hits, two in the ninth, then was relieved by Steve Bedrosian, who struck out the side for his 29th save. The game was scoreless until the sixth, when the Phillies took a 3–0 lead on an RBI single by Von Hayes and a two-run single by Russell.
Bob Tewksbury pitched a complete game, won for the second time in two starts and beat the Detroit Tigers, 10–2, on a dreary afternoon at Yankee Stadium. Yankee first baseman Don Mattingly, whose 24-game hitting streak ended Saturday, had another incredible day: a 400-foot home run, two doubles, two runs scored and three runs batted in. His average improved from .348 to 350, while Wade Boggs of Boston went 1 for 4 and still leads the American League in hitting at .352. Mattingly’s total of 227 hits this season leaves him four short of tying the Yankee record of 231, set in 1927 by Earle Combes. With 51 doubles, he also needs one more to tie Lou Gehrig’s club mark, also set in 1927. With seven games remaining, both records are easily within reach.
This has been an unforgettable season for the Mets. It has been unforgettable for Darryl Strawberry, too, but unlike the Mets generally, what Strawberry won’t forget are the negative aspects. “It’s been more of a pressure season for me,” Strawberry said today after producing all the Mets’ runs, including three with an 11th-inning home run, in their 4–1 victory over Pittsburgh. “All the reaction and all the attention that was focused on me . . . people talking about the negative things I’ve done. Everybody was putting pressure on me, saying I wasn’t doing anything to help the team win. That took a lot out of me. It made me feel like I wasn’t wanted.
Ted Power allowed four hits over eight innings and Dave Concepcion hit his 100th career home run as the Cincinnati Reds defeated the San Diego Padres, 6–3. Concepcion homered in the first inning. Power, 9–6, also doubled in a run in Cincinnati’s three-run second, an inning that featured Kurt Stillwell stealing home on the front end of a double steal.
Joe Carter reached on Jim Presley’s throwing error in the 12th inning, and Cory Snyder followed with a run-scoring single as the Cleveland Indians took a three-game sweep of their series, beating Seattle, 5–4. Mariners pitchers had a club-record 21 strikeouts in the game. Mark Langston struck out 14 in seven innings, Pete Ladd had two in one inning, Matt Young had one in two-thirds of an inning, and Edwin Nunez, 1–2, had four in 3 ⅓.
With no position players left on the bench, San Francisco Giants manager Roger Craig had pitchers playing the outfield and batting in crucial situations Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The ploy worked, however, because reliever Greg Minton doubled with two outs in the 16th inning and scored on Bob Brenly’s single to left, giving the Giants a 6–5 victory. “I’ve always been able to put the bat on the ball, but I never know where it’s going to go,” said Minton, 4–4. The two clubs used 52 players, one fewer than the major league record, in the five-hour, 45-minute game. The Dodgers tied a record with 27 players used and the Giants set a record with 22 runners left on base in a 16-inning game. “It was a lot of fun,” Craig said after the series sweep. “It was a great win because a lot of people contributed. It was like a simulated game in spring training. It seemed everything happened.” Minton lined his double into the left field corner off Balvino Galvez, 0–1. After Will Clark was walked intentionally, Brenly hit his winning single down the third-base line. The Dodgers led 3–1 in the ninth inning, but the Giants tied it. Los Angeles led 5–3 in the 14th, but the Giants tied it again.
Greg Mathews snapped a string of four defeats with a six- hit, seven-inning outing and Steve Lake and Tommy Herr singled in runs as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs, 4–1. The Cubs twice helped St. Louis score. Vince Coleman scored the game’s first run in the third inning on Gary Matthews’ two-base error in left field, and Terry Pendleton scored on Dave Gumpert’s wild pitch in the sixth.
Houston Astros 2, Atlanta Braves 0
Toronto Blue Jays 3, Boston Red Sox 12
Texas Rangers 4, California Angels 3
Minnesota Twins 6, Chicago White Sox 1
Oakland Athletics 2, Kansas City Royals 6
Baltimore Orioles 2, Milwaukee Brewers 10
Philadelphia Phillies 5, Montreal Expos 2
Detroit Tigers 2, New York Yankees 10
New York Mets 4, Pittsburgh Pirates 1
Cincinnati Reds 6, San Diego Padres 3
Cleveland Indians 5, Seattle Mariners 4
Los Angeles Dodgers 5, San Francisco Giants 6
Chicago Cubs 1, St. Louis Cardinals 4
NFL Football:
The Atlanta Falcons beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime, 23–20. Atlanta won on Mick Luckhurst’s third field goal of the game, a 34-yarder 12:35 into overtime. The kick came at the end of a 10-play, 52-yard drive that consumed 6 minutes 29 seconds and completed the Falcons’ comeback from a 20–7 halftime deficit. The Falcons’ 4–0 start is the best in the franchise’s 21-year history. Tampa Bay (1–3) was trying to reach the .500 mark for first time since the sixth week of the 1984 season. Luckhurst, who kicked the game-winning field goal last week in a 37–35 victory over Dallas, hit field goals of 43 and 34 yards in the fourth period to force the game into overtime.
Jim McMahon, making his first start since suffering a separated shoulder three weeks ago, threw three touchdown passes today to lead the Chicago Bears to a 44–7 rout of the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bears, who intercepted five passes, built a 21–0 first-quarter lead that was never in jeopardy. Chicago is now 4–0; Cincinnati is 2–2. McMahon dived 1 yard for the Bears’ first score, tossed a 2-yard scoring pass to Walter Payton, then launched a 53-yard touchdown pass to Willie Gault to complete the biggest first-quarter scoring blitz against Cincinnati in five years. His third touchdown pass went to Emery Moorehead, the tight end, in the third quarter. Gault, a wide receiver, had the best game of his four-year career, making 7 catches for 174 yards.
The Cleveland Browns edged the Detroit Lions, 24–21. Gerald McNeil, at 143 pounds the lightest player in the N.F.L., returned a punt 84 yards for a touchdown and set up the tie-breaking score with a 36-yard kickoff return. McNeil’s third-quarter punt return, which gave Cleveland a 14–7 lead, was the longest ever for the Browns (2–2). His fourth-quarter kick return preceded a 10-play, 58-yard drive that was capped by Matt Bahr’s 24-yard field goal with 11 minutes to play. That gave Cleveland a 17–14 lead and the Browns sealed the victory on Curtis Dickey’s 1-yard touchdown run with 7:45 to play. Eric Hipple completed 33 passes for the Lions (1–3), breaking his team record. He threw 48 passes and the 33 completions were good for 251 yards.
The Minnesota Vikings crushed the Green Bay Packers, 42–7. Tommy Kramer threw six touchdown passes and surpassed the 20,000-yard career passing mark. For only the second time in their 66-year history, the Packers have started a season 0–4; they were also 0–4 in 1975. The Vikings (3–1) snapped a five-game losing streak to Green Bay. Kramer, who was replaced early in the second half after his sixth touchdown, completed 16 of 25 passes for 241 yards, giving him 20,004 yards for his career.
The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills, 20–17. Nick Lowery kicked a 46-yard field goal with 1:07 left in the game to give Kansas City the victory. The Chiefs (3–1) scored twice in the final five minutes. The winning score was set up when Deron Cherry intercepted Jim Kelly late in the fourth quarter after the Chiefs had scored the tying touchdown. Cherry’s interception gave Kansas City the ball at the Bills’ (1–3) 45 with 3:58 to play, and the Chiefs drove close enough for Lowery’s field goal. The victory broke an eight-game road losing streak for Kansas City.
Ron Jaworski’s three touchdown passes and a defense that stopped Eric Dickerson carried the Philadelphia Eagles to a 34–20 upset of the previously unbeaten Los Angeles Rams today. It was the Eagles’ first victory under Buddy Ryan, their new head coach. Jaworski, who left the game in the third quarter with what was described as a slight concussion, completed 17 of 27 passes for 213 yards. The loss was the Rams’ first after three victories; the Eagles are 1–3. Philadelphia was ranked last in rushing defense coming into the game and Dickerson was the league’s top runner with 392 yards. But the Eagles held him to 58 yards on 17 carries. The Eagles jumped to a 27–0 halftime lead, turning an intercepted pass, a fumble recovery and a trick play into 17 points.
The Denver Broncos scored on four of their five possessions in the second half today and rallied to beat the New England Patriots, 27–20. It was the fourth victory without a loss for the Broncos, who trailed by 13–3 at halftime. The Patriots fell to 2–2. John Elway, who hit on only 6 of 18 passes for 48 yards with one interception in the first half, came alive on Denver’s opening possession of the second half. He completed passes of 17 yards to Steve Watson and 32 yards to Mark Jackson, then found Clarence Kay, the tight end on a 1-yard scoring toss. For the game, Elway completed 17 of 33 passes for 185 yards.
At the beginning today, the New York Giants were in deep trouble. Midway through the second quarter, they trailed the New Orleans Saints, 17–0, and that was only part of it. Their best receiver, Mark Bavaro, was out of the game with a chipped tooth, and physicians at first thought he might have a broken jaw. Their best wide receiver, Lionel Manuel, was out with a sprained left knee. Their best runner, Joe Morris, was home, too weak from an allergic reaction to medicine to come to Giants Stadium. Though the Saints were underdogs, they seemed on the way to a blowout victory. Instead, the Giants stopped making mistakes, stopped getting bad breaks, started getting good breaks and pulled out the game. Most of the 72,769 fans seemed delighted as the Giants held the Saints scoreless the rest of the way, scored twice on touchdowns and twice on field goals and won, 20–17. The winning points came on Phil Simms’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Zeke Mowatt midway through the last quarter.
Aided by the stumbling, fumbling Colts, the New York Jets produced an inelegant but conclusive 26–7 victory today as Pat Leahy kicked four field goals to extend his streak to 19 without a miss. The Jets are now atop the American Conference East at 3–1. But they had spent the week psyching themselves for the winless Colts: Could the Jets beat a poorer team after expending so much emotion on their improbable 51–45 overtime victory over Miami? The Colts helped the Jets find the answer. The Jet defense swarmed over poor Jack Trudeau, the rookie in his second start, and bashed into him repeatedly just as he was passing.
The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Houston Oilers, 22–16. Rick Woods returned a punt 41 yards in overtime to set up Walter Abercrombie’s 3-yard touchdown run. The victory was the first of the season for Pittsburgh (1–3). Houston (1–3) suffered its third consecutive loss.
The Los Angeles Raiders beat the San Diego Chargers, 17–13. Marc Wilson threw two touchdown passes in a span of 41 seconds as Los Angeles (1–3) gained its first victory of the season. The Raiders, playing without their star tailback, Marcus Allen, who was sidelined because of a sprained ankle, had opened the year by losing their first three games for the first time in 22 years. Wilson, who completed 19 of 28 passes for 314 yards, threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Dokie Williams with 16 seconds left in the first half and hit Jessie Hester with a 40-yard bomb just 25 seconds into the third quarter. Turnovers by San Diego (1–3) set up the two touchdowns, which gave the Raiders a 14–13 lead. The defenses dominated the rest of the game until Chris Bahr kicked an 18-yard field goal with 1:41 left to give Los Angeles a 4-point advantage. Dan Fouts, the San Diego quarterback, completed 20 of 45 passes for 208 yards and was intercepted three times. He suffered a broken nose when sacked early in the second quarter but did not come out of the game.
The San Francisco 49ers downed the Miami Dolphins, 31–16. Jeff Kemp hit Jerry Rice with two touchdown passes and the San Francisco defense intercepted Dan Marino four times. It was the third loss in four games for the Dolphins, their worst start since they were 0–3–1 in 1969. The four interceptions by the 49ers (3–1) were the most ever against Marino, who completed 27 of 46 for 301 yards. Kemp hit on 14 of 29 for 168 yards. He made the game’s big play: a 50-yard connection with Rice with 15 seconds left in the half. It came three plays after the Dolphins had cut the lead to 10–9 and it gave the 49ers a 17–9 advantage at halftime.
They seem rather odd, these Washington Redskins. They use three tight ends, sometimes one as a wide receiver. They run a one-back offense, which sometimes shifts to a no-back offense. They even have two kickers. What it all boils down to, though, is one very good football team, and its 19–14 victory today over the Seattle Seahawks kept the Redskins as one of only four teams still undefeated after four games. The Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos are also undefeated, but the Los Angeles Rams lost to the Philadelphia Eagles. In all respects it was an impressive showing by the Redskins, notably by Jay Schroeder, George Rogers and Steve Cox. Schroeder, the quarterback, kept three of four scoring drives alive with fine reads and execution. Rogers ran 25 times for 115 yards and touchdowns of 24 and 7 yards before leaving early in the fourth quarter with a mild concussion.
Atlanta Falcons 23, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20
Chicago Bears 44, Cincinnati Bengals 7
Detroit Lions 21, Cleveland Browns 24
Green Bay Packers 7, Minnesota Vikings 42
Kansas City Chiefs 20, Buffalo Bills 17
Los Angeles Rams 20, Philadelphia Eagles 34
New England Patriots 20, Denver Broncos 27
New Orleans Saints 17, New York Giants 20
New York Jets 26, Indianapolis Colts 7
Pittsburgh Steelers 22, Houston Oilers 16
San Diego Chargers 13, Los Angeles Raiders 17
San Francisco 49ers 31, Miami Dolphins 16
Seattle Seahawks 14, Washington Redskins 19
Born:
Jermelle Cudjo, NFL defensive end (St. Louis Rams, Detroit Lions), in Lawton, Oklahoma.
Zach Stewart, MLB pitcher (Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox), in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Died:
Carmen De Rue, 78, American child actor in silent films.
Robert Helpmann, 77, Australian actor, choreographer, and dancer (“Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”; “Don Quixote”).
